Tom Felton

TIFF 2013: ‘Therese’ a dead-on-arrival debut

So-called “costume dramas” often deal in subtle yet significant helpings of sexual repression guiding their characters’ every action. The idea of an erotic thriller set in the 1860s is thereby rather an intriguing one – in which each intimate moment carries greater weight and excitement than in most present day scenarios. Émile Zola’s novel “Thérèse Raquin” is no stranger to cinema, its first of many screen adaptations dating back to a 1915 Italian silent film. Television veteran Charlie Stratton makes his feature directorial debut with a new look at the doomed yarn of lust and betrayal.

TIFF 2013: ‘Belle’ is period with purpose

Ah, period piece films. It’s kind of a silly term if you think about it, since any historical time ever is technically a period, the film itself being the artistic piece of the equation. These films don’t really constitute a genre on their own, and they’re most commonly referring to something in the far past, though certainly not exclusively. Some people hear of a film referred to as a “period piece,” and the first things that come to mind are nobility and dogmatic rulers, oppressed women, and way-paving.

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